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Phillies name MacPhail special assistant, to take over as president after 2015

Steve Nesius / Reuters

The Philadelphia Phillies dramatically altered their leadership staff Monday afternoon when they announced that Andy MacPhail will succeed president Pat Gillick following the 2015 campaign.

Sitting at a dais at Citizens Bank Park, Phillies ownership partner John Middleton told reporters MacPhail will serve as a special assistant to Gillick for the remainder of the season before assuming control of both the baseball and business operations in 2016.

For the next few months, though, MacPhail will work closely with both Gillick and chief operating officer Michael Stile to familiarize himself with the franchise and determine how best to guide the organization through a critical phase of its ongoing rebuild.

“Andy brings an uncommon blend of old school experience and new age thinking,” Middleton said. "Old school because he has been building winning teams for over three decades."

MacPhail, 62, boasts a strong baseball lineage - his father, Lee, was general manager of the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees before serving as president of the American League from 1974-1984 - and a compelling track record of success in the major leagues.

As GM of the Minnesota Twins from 1985 to 1994, MacPhail led the team to a pair of World Series championships. After leaving Minnesota, MacPhail took over as president and CEO of the Chicago Cubs from 1994 to 2006 - he also served as GM, briefly, from 2000 to 2001 - before joining the Orioles as president of baseball operations, a position he held until 2011.

In his new position, MacPhail will likely play an active role as the Phillies look to unload several key assets at next month's trade deadline - among them, Cole Hamels, Jonathan Papelbon, and Aaron Harang - while also determining the future of longtime general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.

"Ruben is going to be the GM through the end of the season," Gillick told ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. "He's going to make any of the deals that we make. He still has that authority. That's his job - to change personnel. That's not going to change."

MacPhail's hiring should also help restore some of the credibility squandered by the Phillies in recent years. On Friday, manager Ryne Sandberg tendered his resignation following three miserable seasons at the helm, remarking that the mounting losses "weighed on (him)."

Among MacPhail's top priorities heading into next season will be to hire a long-term manager, Gillick said. The Phillies remain committed to Pete MacKanin as interim manager only through Thursday, at which point they're expected to either name him or someone else the skipper for the remainder of the season.

"We haven’t made a decision yet on what Pete’s status is going to be," Gillick said. "But certainly, he’s going to manage this four-game series against the Brewers. We’ll probably make an announcement later in the week."

Heading into Monday's series opener, the Phillies own a 27-50 record, the worst in the majors, and haven't enjoyed a winning season since 2011.

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